SCE Gets OK to Use Dividends for Expenses

Edison International’s Southern California Edison, the state’s second-largest utility, will be allowed to use $1.2 billion from unpaid dividends for operating expenses, California regulators said.

The state’s Public Utilities Commission voted 5 to 0 for the resolution. The Office of Ratepayer Advocates, a consumer protection arm of the PUC, had urged the panel to reject it, saying the money should be used to pay debt.

Shares of Rosemead-based Edison rose 41 cents to close at $15.48 on the NYSE.